Last night’s first Democratic primary debate gave us the first look at the candidates vying for an opportunity to take on a Republican from the shit show that has been the GOP primary debates.

The first thing that struck me was the tone. Martin O’Malley, though entering a fringe player and probably remaining so, was precisely right in his closing statement when he made the point about the tone of the debate. It was refreshing after having to endure the GOP debate reality TV series. OK. OK. I didn’t have to watch them!

10 years ago today at 3:29am, in an apparent bout of insomnia, I posted for the first time on a blog with a silly name that would come to mean more to Ohio politics than I could have ever imagined.

Back then it seemed like almost everyone with a political opinion had a blog and jumping into the fray seemed like a good idea at the time. My feelings for George W. Bush and his then 2 year war in Iraq along with the general feeling of unease for the political direction of the country were the main motivations. […]

Today marks the two year anniversary of the defeat of Kasich’s signature ALEC-inspired anti-labor bill. Ohioans came together in a broad coalition to send Kasich and his Republican allies packing. Policemen, firefighters, teachers, and many other public workers showed up in unprecedented numbers at The Statehouse to turn back the governor’s harmful agenda.

We here at the site remember this time as some of the best we’ve seen in terms of traffic. Many were turned on to what we do because of our work on this issue. Plunderbund was widely recognized as the best source of information for those opposed […]

This week, Ohio’s Rob Portman became the first Republican Senator to openly support gay marriage. First in an exclusive interview with CNN’s Dana Bash and again in an OpEd for a right-leaning traditional news publication based in Central Ohio.

There seem to be two schools of reactions from the left. One is a genuine embrace of his changed stance as an ally for an issue important to most on the left. The other is lukewarm acceptance coupled with “yeah, but what about these other issues” criticism.

The heat is getting turned up on State School Board President Debe Terhar after having garnered national attention for her misguided and extremist rhetoric regarding the President and his efforts to combat gun violence.

Ohio Democrats today are officially calling on Debe to resign. From a statement released by Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern said:

“While there is always room for respectful differences in opinions, State School Board President Terhar’s facebook posting crossed a clear line by connecting the President’s national discussion on guns to Adolf Hitler,” said Ohio Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern. “President Terhar’s invocation of Hitler […]

State Board of Education President Debe Terhar not only implicitly compared President Obama to Adolph Hitler by posting a graphic on her Facebook page, she doesn’t even verify the authenticity of the quote. A common mistake amongst those who share content on Facebook – or the Internet for that matter.

The quote in question ascribed to Hitler has long been used in gun rights circles to satisfy Godwin’s Law when entering in debate with gun control advocates. It was repurposed on a graphic that Debe apparently posted and shared with her friends:

We earlier posted the full text of President Obama’s 2nd inauguration speech. While listening and following snippets of the speech something jumped out at me. This part of his “our journey is not complete” segment stood out:

Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law –- (applause) — for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.

I wondered if he or any other President had included this type of language relative to gay rights.

Does not get old. The best written, best delivered, most impactful speech in American history:

I Have A Dream (Full Text)

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to […]

ThinkProgress caught the GOP accidentally telling the truth again as they outline in a report put out by their Republican State Leadership Committee how their majority in the US House is due almost entirely to gerrymandering congressional districts and overcoming popular vote disparities in key states.

Plunderbund readers are well aware of the problem with gerrymandering in Ohio. As TP points out, the report basically admits Republicans are getting away with subverting the true will of the people of Ohio in order to hold on to power:

As you can imagine, reaction in Ohio to Obama’s big gun speech was a mixed bag. Senior Senator from Ohio Sherrod Brown was obviously supportive:

The president is taking long-overdue action on efforts that improve background checks, ensure more federal coordination, and improve school safety,” Brown said in a statement. “It’s now time for Congress to renew the assault weapons ban, a common-sense effort to prevent the proliferation of deadly, high-powered weapons, and close the gun show loophole that prevents background checks from being conducted to ensure guns are purchased lawfully. 1